What to do with a stairlift that is no longer needed?

corbyboy

Sadly, my nan passed away a few months ago. It is my mum's responsibility to sort out all her things. She has finally been able to start disposing of things that are no longer needed.

The issue she is having is with my nan's old stairlift. What do we do with it? Are there companies that would be interested in buying it (it's about 7 or 8 years old I believe but well maintained)? Even somebody who would remove it for free would be excellent.

Does anybody know what to do? Thanks

ariba10

There are some advertised on "Gumtree" in our area.

easy

I would begin by approaching the company that first supplied it. All the companies now seem to offer 'refurbished' models now, and if they have been in to service it over the last few years, they'll know it's in good condition and should be able to sell it on.

They MIGHT give you a few quid for it, never know, but should at least take it out for free.

If that fails, offer it on freecycle, make it clear that whoever takes it has to come and uninstall it tho

alanq

I wouldn't hold out much hope for the vending company's offer. I read recently of someone having a stair-lift installed for an elderly person about to return to their home. They died before they got home. The company offered a derisory amount for a stair-lift that they had just installed and had never been used.

"...if you are selling an older stair lift it will often have little value as a second hand purchase. For older stair lifts it is often a case of finding the most economic method of removal and safe disposal."
http://www.help-my-mobility.co.uk/articles/second-hand-stair-lifts.htm

A quick web search found one company offering free removal for a straight stair-lift up to 6 years old. Another charging (£75 straight £95 curved) to remove "older models". As I have no idea of the reputation of these companies I will not provide links.

easy wrote: »

If that fails, offer it on freecycle, make it clear that whoever takes it has to come and uninstall it tho

You would need to be sure that whoever removes the stair-lift is competent and does not leave the electrics unsafe. Otherwise the free removal could turn out expensive!

hilstep2000

People sometimes ebay them. Or advertise it for for free in your local newspaper or Friday ad

nigem

I rang Stannah who wanted about £300 to remove it :eek:. So I put my parents one on gumtree, tradeit and www.stairlifttrader.com/.

Someone from a company that reconditions and installs them replied to my ad, collected it and paid about £150 if I remember correctly.

HTH

Biggles

If it's straight, it will have a resale value (though not necessarily a very high one).

If it goes round a corner, there's hardly any value, due to the fact that it's very unlikely that anyone with the same stair layout will happen to want one at the same time as you are selling yours.

Tuesday_Tenor

Parents stairlift. Cost c. £1300 new.
Only used by Mum for 2 months before she died.
We left it in, and kept it charged up, in case Dad ever needed it.
After 3 years Dad died withour ever needing it.
Original company gave us £200 for it.
They removed it very efficiently, and I couldn't believe that there was NO trace that it had ever been there.

After 8 years I doubt the original company would give you much, but hopefully they'll take it away for you.

pieeta

We sold my mother in law's stairlift on ebay last October. Can't recall how much we listed it for but someone came in and offered £100 to buy it. He came and removed it himself. He was a dealer of sorts and had quite a number of them for sale on ebay.

Ilona

There was a stairlift in my house when I moved in. Someone gave me £200 for it, dismantled it and took it away. That was a few years ago. Try and sell it privately.
Ilona

Agapanthus

My mother had a stairlift. When she moved out we phoned the manufacturers, who said they would charge to take it away. So we put it on ebay, thinking we might get a few pounds for it. The auction attracted several bidders and some fierce competitive bidding between a couple of stairlift dealers ensued. The winning bidder paid us £500 and drove from Nottingham down to London to dismantle and collect it.

Apparently, the bit they all really wanted was the curve around the corner - I put exact measurements in the description.

We were astonished - try ebay, there's very little to lose.